A totally different idea for Regionals & Nationals

[MillerTime38]

The Big Dawg seems to have it figured out so why not format regionals similar to a big dawg qualifier. Make Regionals a two round event and the top % (based on # of participants) qualify for nationals. Then make nationals a two round slalom event and one rd jump and trick. Let's face it slalom skiers drive the sport, but three event still needs to be part of nationals.

 

I would attend regionals and nationals every year if this were the format, but then again I go every year the way it is now...

[ntx]

@MattP‌ Ok Lets use your example. 20 skiers or less per div. in a prelim, then a second rd reduced to a smaller number. It is still very likely that you will still be limited to a single rd.

 

Next you say that 1 rd is not fun. Now I know that you are a collegate tournament skier. All of them are a single rd three event. Are you saying that you go, but you dont have fun? I undersatnd that there is a much differant enviroment, but does that mean that there has to be a drunk free for all to have fun?

 

Then you talk about night skiing. Does that mean that we have to have a book of unwritten rules?

 

Just a quick question. Have you ever been to or competed at AWSA Nationals?

 

 

@Horton‌ In the part of the country that I live in, we can attend a 3 rd slalom tournament every weekend and not have to travel more than a hour or two. We do it in a single day. That concept gets old after a while. It is the same thing and the same people. Part of the draw to the nationals is the social side of the event. There are many people that we reconnect with from across the country that we see once a year. (at nationals).

 

Many things can be done to shorten the time required for nationals. The early part of the week this year, the slalom lakes started at 9 and were done by 1 or 2. The jump and trick lake ran ALL day. Move some of the trick events to the unused slalom lakes. Start slalom at 7:30 instead of 9. Reduce the days from six to four. If that happens, do the ski manufactures still come out to sell there products?

 

I really have no problem with the current configuration. Yes it could be reduced in length but I don't think a muti-rd event is the answer. Maybe put the trick and jump skis on, then you can ski three times.

 

 

@MillerTime38‌ spoken like a true slalom Forgot what I was going to say.

[Horton]

@ntx‌ my error - I gave the wrong emphasis.

 

I keep going back to # of rounds. I will get 6 rounds this weekend so just any old extra rounds are to the point.

 

If everyone likes the current for I will go back to talking about how to get a higher score...

[Klundell]

I'm a huge fan of this idea. The only change I would make is changing it from a state championship to an Open championship to make it more fair from state to state (in UT if 5 from each division go then almost everyone from UT makes it yet CA could be very difficult). An open, regional, worldwide event is how CrossFit does its qualification. The open (I would make a $10 entry fee to throw your hat in the ring) would be any score in a class C or higher tournament during a specified two week period. Then you take the top x number of scores to each regional. The disparity from region to region as far as it not being fair is something CrossFit just deals with. They are less concerned about who the bottom few are that make it as they are about making sure the best guys are there.

 

I haven't been to nationals in about 8 years because it is just to financially burdensome for what the event is (even after winning regionals a few times).

[MillerTime38]

@NTX Just look at the numbers at nationals. How many skiers in the slalom event compared to 3 event skiers?

"Maybe put the trick and jump skis on and you can ski three times" I guess this is easy when you live on a a two lake ski site with a jump. The reality is most people do not have this luxury nor the time to dedicate to excelling at all three events. I guess we could all just put trick skis on do a side slide and plop over the jump but who really wants to see that?

[ToddL]

I'm sorry... what is the Root Cause of the problem we are trying to solve? I'm not joking. Before we can solve anything, there has to be a pretty clear consensus about what the problem is.

 

Ballers - what do you think the problem is?

 

Write down what you think the problem is down. Then ask yourself: "Why?"

Write down that answer (i.e. it is probably an upstream problem). Then, ask yourself "Why" again.

Do this three more times. The 5th "why" answer is likely the Root Cause which you consider the source of the problems you mentioned.

 

Then, we can look for a consensus of Root Causes.

 

From there, we can define solution options...

[A_B]

I use to struggle with going to Regionals or Nationals, but adding 60 pounds solved my mental dilemma.

Same reasons, one ride, maybe top 10 regionals, and ho hum nationals, lots of cost.

 

To the outside world, National competitor doesn't mean anything. I think we get hung up on

Big Dawg this, Natioanls that, but maybe we should look at the Nationals as a "Woodstock-like" event, as it really only matters to those who go and experience it, so why not make it multi-round, vendor enriched, and an event to go and have a great time at? Throw in some music Kilo Kai, and bikini contests, etc....

 

[skier2788]

I agree with @horton on this one. The only reason I went to nationals this year was because regionals was 15 minutes from the house and my sister lives at SMRR. Already trying to figure out if I am going to go next year. It is a lot of cost and time off of work. Beino self employed if I am not working I don't get a pay check. Hard for me to take two weeks off in a 6 week time span. Especially when it is for 6 minutes of skiing if I ski well. I like the multiple round scenario.

[MattP]

@ntx Yes, are our tournaments are 1 round 3 event. I have fun for other reasons. I spend a lot of my time either as an appointed official, hosting the events, judging, and dock starting. I don't sit around much I don't enjoy that. I am not your typical college skier, I am the Director of the Eastern Region, on the SAC board, I host events solo so we have enough tournaments for teams to get scores for Nationals.

One reason they are fun is I get to see and hang out with all my friends this is why I alluded to W1 being on the opposite end of M1 this year. You will always see me trick and even jump at college tournaments. Which has gotten me to buy gear and Tricking more and jumping( from time to time) in AWSA events. Would I rather trade in my trick and jump round for 2 more of slalom usually I would say yes. My team has no way of ever making Nationals so my view is a little skewed. Drunk free for all is a poor way to put it.

 

You are beating a dead horse about these unwritten night rules. So I'm not commenting there.

 

I have not been or competed at Nats. I have been qualified the last 2 years but could not justify spending all that money for 1 or 2 pulls. I pay for all my skiing. I would rather go to Cali ProAm or some fun event. I will go the first time I can afford it but after that only when I know I will be competitive.

 

If Nationals was shorter I would say the manufactures would still come. They would save money in hotels ect. and would still get the same exposure. I know a handful of people that were working booths at Nationals for manufactures this year and honestly they told me they were miserable being there for so long in the dust bowl and heat.

 

 

I'm trying to throw ideas out here to make this event different and help it evolve. This sport is "dying" because there has not been enough change over the years. Too many people are living with the idea it worked when I was skiing so it should now so lets not rock the boat and change what worked once.

 

The USA is one of the only Nationals in the World that only has 1 round. It is unique but do we always want to be unique? Should we look and see what some of the other countries are doing at their National level?

[rayn]

I feel the same way. I don't need Regionals/Nationals to be more than one round (never qualified - my goal), but give me the opportunity to ski more rounds in another event at the same or very close location.

 

As a slalom only guy, I feel the same way about a weekend event with Slalom on one day and tricks and Jump on the other. I would like to get as many rounds as possible to be away from home.

 

However speaking out of the other side of my mouth - I really like the local tournaments which are as much about being with the people as it is about the skiing.

[ALPJr]

I'm rambling here - working on my 3rd cup of coffee.... I like the set up of going from states, to regionals to a national comp. Like most sports, time and money are the limiting factors for many participants. In my opinion this is what limits water skiing today more that anything else. I remember an article in the Water Skier back in the mid 70's that explained why most water skiers wore t-shirts and cut offs, used shared equipment, and skied behind little runabouts with 60hp outboards on public waterways. Through the mid 90's Uncle Al's Novice Nationals at Berkeley were always a fun and competitive event with all levels of skiers. 3 events, 2 rounds, well attended, good people, tasty food, free t-shirt, and cool raffles. It was held on a nationals weekend. Al said the awsa was not happy about the name and date of the tourney.

[eleeski]

@MillerTime38‌ I'm kind of offended by your post. It reeks of elitism. Many people are dedicated and work very hard at 3 event skiing or even specializing in jump or tricks. Not every skier is focused on slalom. If we were to welcome wakeboards, slalom would be a minority.

 

@Horton‌ Nationals is an event more than a competition. The skiing is the anchor but there is a lot more to it. I got to judge @webbdawg99‌ when his ski exploded. Working that division was fun and gave me great hope for the future of the sport (these guys are great!). Watching the night goings on was another fringe benefit. Connecting with the vendors was enlightening. But the real treat was to see the friends who ski.

 

There absolutely should be another round at Nationals. Event winners should earn a qualification into a super division. At least skiers should be able to ski Open (or Masters) and the age division. That might get a couple more entries but won't solve the family/vacation issues.

 

Nationals is the biggest tournament in the world. Hopefully any tweaks will preserve this prestige.

 

Eric

[skiray]

Ok, I had time to think about it. Horton said a tournament that he wants to ski at.... Yet the top 5 format would exclude him.

 

Who else would it exclude? Is the average skier single with no skiing family? Are they people who travel with folks who don't ski?

 

I'm not sure but how many folks would go if it was top five only? A lot of the skiers I know had multiple family members going or were traveling with a ski partner. I guess those guys would just go by theirselves.... I think the more restrictive format might not yield the expected result above.

 

As a spectator, I'm not traveling to see a multi round event over what we currently have. I like the atmosphere of what we have. I can go to a local multi round event. - I'm out.

 

As a skier, I'm not close to qualifying at the current standard but my kids are. They would not make the top five cut. - we are out.

 

I'm not sure how this grows the sport. I'd be more inclined to support a small $2 or $3 national charge for every other tournament in order to make Nationals better. That cash could be used for prizes, waived entry feed for top seeds, entertainment, etc.

[MillerTime38]

@ELeeski I am sorry my opinion offends you. I am not sure how my comment would seem elitist, it is more of a smart business decision. Would you make more money if 100 more slalom skiers attended or if 50 current slalom skiers chose to do 3 event? I was actually one of the "These guys are great" skiing in the M2 division just before @Webbdawg99

[dave2ball]

The nationals are USA water ski's cash cow. At one time the nationals were a very prestigious event to attend as a skier. Now it's ski as fast as we can and collect the cash. If USA water ski wants to bring up attendance they could try 2 things first make it about the skier not how many you can pull in an hour and second don't they allow MM skiers to go back into there own division. The average skier who may have a chance now at placing may go which would bring up the numbers of skiers. the nationals have become just another tournament. As far as regional's it was not required nobody would go.

I do like Horton's idea.

[ntx]

Everyone wants more rounds. To do that, you must reduce the numbers. Be careful what you ask for. That just might make you the one that gets left out. Then you will hear "I am not going to sit and just watch the event. I want to ski" @Mattp Had you come to this years nationals, you might have heard the joke about why M1 and W1 were on different ends of the week. The rumor was that they were trying to prevent addtional growth of the sport. (just a joke) Look at the numbers at other nationals. You won't find 600 skiers. Again. Increase the rds and reduce the number of skiers. Then, the site increases the entry fee to cover the costs and skiers say "Forget that, I am not paying that much to only ski two rds. How do we make everyone happy?

 

[ntx]

@millertime38 Looks like the numbers are that 56% of all skiers in M/W 4 and below, skied in more than one event. That means that at Nationals, slalom only skiers are not in a majority.

[klindy]

@dave2ball‌ a clarification. Revenue from the nationals helps find AWSA not USAWS. There is a difference. Also to call it a "cash cow" would be a gross overstatement.

 

I'm assuming you didn't attend this years nationals. While we did put a skier on a boat in the hole for tricks and we did swap ropes in slalom I don't known of any skier who felt rushed, pushed, hurried or was otherwise asked to "go as fast as we can". We certainly didn't expand the tournament to fill the time allotted but, as chief judge, I made special emphasis multiple times to emphasis "having fun".

 

If you did attend and felt rushed, I apologize. That was clearly not the goal.

[unksskis]

Make Regionals non-mandatory for those who have already qualified for Nationals, and turn it into the qualifier for those that are on the bubble or trying to. This increases the importance of Regionals, as it is more likely for the level 6-7 to attend because they can place and go to Nationals, without having to beat out those that are already qualified (Level 8 on the current system). IMO, this will increase Nationals attendance due to people not having to waste a weekend, money etc going to Regionals just to go to Nationals, as well as increase the interest and possibly skiers attending Regionals. Make Regionals the go to for the above average and average skiers, then it gets them to the big dance if they place. It also rewards the top skiers for attending tournaments throughout the summer and maintaining a certain level of ranking/skiing. State differs too much from state to state to implement the system suggested, however I do think it would be a start to grow at the local level, there's just little to no interest in those people going to Regional and especially Nationals. We need to focus on keeping, maintaining and getting the skiers who are already qualified and top level skiers going to Nationals, and not on just increasing the numbers, because the numbers aren't there. If it were a business, this business needs to work on keeping it's current customer base, rather than always attracting new one's, because that approach isn't working, and it's losing it's current customer base quicker than it's attracting new one's. We're a small community, we need to keep our own from leaving first, before focus is put on new people.

[nleuth]

Waterski events with excitement would be awesome! In my opinion the current national tournament is a very anti-climatic event. There are several positives that do exist such as personal gratification a good performance. The vendors are cool, seeing your piers, and skiing against a solid group of competition on the same site to find a true champion. All sounds nice, but none of that has to be lost by changing it to a new format. More rounds would allow for a more accurate selection of the true champion.

The 2 main problems I have with the current system are:

 

1) There isn't much to show for skiing at nationals, I mean even a T-shirt or other momento's to go with the $160 ticket would be nice! And even if you podium, again the personal gratification is great but all you really have to show is medal for all your hard work. Don't want to dwell on that problem, but just something I noticed.

 

2) There are no spectators or exposure. We are talking the best of the best in the US and while you skiing it is crickets! The eastern regionals this year was held at a location where public exposure was huge! The skiing quality did suffer, but it was an equal playing field. It was also by far the most fun waterski event I have competed in. Not very often do you pop out of the water after skiing and have a couple hundred people yelling and screaming with excitement... That's what we need! Ponds are great for personal performance but generally not for showcasing a very exciting sport!

 

I am all for an overhaul of the system, it needs to be more interesting to the average person. I think using states and regionals to qualify is great! It gives small tournaments more meaning. A bigger foundation will help the sport grow, not a bigger nationals. All the people who attend nationals already love the sport and are hooked. We need to spark more interest at the bottom and work up. All 4 change.

[MillerTime38]

@ntx I guess you left out M5 (the biggest group of slalom skiers) for a reason. Your numbers help prove my point (thanks for doing the leg work) the AWSA could not survive with 44% of the current attendence at Nationals. Hence slalom skiers drive the sport

[Horton]

@MillerTime38‌ I am pretty sure all the posts in this thread are sincere. If you are about to get grumpy (hard to tell) don't.

[MillerTime38]

@Horton I am not getting grumpy, my posts are sincere and reflect my opinion as a skier that attends nationals every year

[Horton]

@MillerTime38‌ ok. No stress. I am just on high alert after Monday. Carry on.

[unksskis]

Nationals should never be multiple rounds. That is what skiing is all about. 3 jumps, 2 trick passes, one shot at slalom. That's what makes it a whole different game than a local 3 rounder. It's one shot, and it's beautiful.

[bogboy]

@MillerTime38‌ if you are who I think you are, thank you for helping me with my skiing all year, and congrats at the nationals.

[Murrski]

Skimming the tread but what stands out most to me is that many (maybe majority) of skiers will go to Nationals one time (the bucket list theme) and if Nationals is more locally hosted - maybe another time. I'm in the same boat on this one. I won't compete in Regionals/Nationals if it's not semi-local and I'd probably only do Nationals once too (if qualified). I'm a mid level skier (7 I think). If I were in the top level - I'd be more likely to want to compete (best-vs-best) at Nationals. My family and I are part time skiers at best - so attending Regionals/Nationals in the current format is not going to happen unless it's local. Long story short - I support the idea for change and I believe that bucket list objectives can not feed the sport for continuous growth. Final thought: I'd rather take my family to a pro event and watch the elite and continue to just ski Class-Cs. Love Badal's efforts on the ProAm to give the Western Region an opportunity to see these elite men and women compete. I just want to see more pro events out West!

[Horton]

@unksskis‌ you are an overall skier?

[BRY]

Hmmm, the rationale here is a bit confounding to me.

Many say they want to grow the sport but want to make the largest event significantly smaller? Huh, just don't see how that grows anything. Cutting 600+ skiers to best case 155*, likely less due to no shows, I believe will shrink the sport.

Also, multiple rounds with even 100 skiers, considering 66% probably also trick, jump or both, seems tough logistically in 3 days.

 

Currently all 600+ of those skiers in this year's Nationals skied in their Regionals. I am pretty sure if Nats went to 155 skiers or less the vast majority of the 445+ cut would not ski Regionals. Pretty much thats's the jist I got at Regionals and Nationals last two years (didn't go this year). I believe that would essentially turn Regionals into just another local tournament

 

Change for change's sake is typically not good and does not fix the issue. Perhaps a clearly defined mission statement of what needs to be fixed. Then think creatively to solve that.

 

@Horton says "I think if someone really looked at the numbers you would find decreasing percent of qualified skiers go to Nationals. There is always talk of growing the sport. How about we talk about keeping participation levels from getting smaller first?" I submit that decreasing total numbers of skiers to boost percent of qualified skiers participating does not grow the sport, but that specifically it shrinks it.

 

@Horton‌ "Just give me a tournament that I want to go to. " I hear you man, I want someone to build me my ideal tournament too! :) Actually tried to build it with a buddy (he started it, I took it over one year he didn't want to) 2 rounds (with option for 3), top 8 NOPS head to head, made no money, put it all into T-shirts, beer, burgers. Was a great time, everyone seemed to love it. Moved to FL, and it's R, R, R, C's aren't real tournaments... sigh. It just rained 2", sky's parting, lakes glass, I'm gonna go find a driver and take a set.

 

 

*There are 31 divisions for slalom (16 for male and 15 female). Take the top 5 from Regionals to qualify for Nationals and that's potential 155 skiers slalom. Seems most who trick and/or jump also slalom. Assuming (big assumption) those who jump and/or trick but don't slalom balance out age divisions that don't fill (Divisions 8 and higher) that gives a reasonable headcount. Feel free to work out more exact numbers...

[ntx]

@MillerTime38 The reason I left out the M/W 5 and above, is beacuse I do not think they are in the growth demo for the sport. The other thing you will see, is that in the older div. most of them ski more than one event. After your post, I went back and included them in the data. There were 626 skiers that posted a score at Nationals. (several signed up but did not ski) 268 were slalom only. Including all divs. the percentage of slalom only got worse and fell to 42.8%

 

@horton Not to worry. Pretty sure that @MillerTime38 and I both know each other. Not a problem

 

@MillerTime38 will we see you at our 3rd slalom in a few weeks? We missed you at our first two this year I think.

 

@murrski You are correct that location is a huge factor that drives the skiers that attend. Closer to home, the more likely to attend.

[webbdawg99]

We have some conflicting problems here. I think most of us agree that we want to grow the sport. Most of us also agree that Nationals doesn't have the prestige that it used to.

 

Why do we have to have Nationals as an avenue to grow the sport? Its Nationals! It should be exclusive! Having hundreds or thousands of skiers qualify doesn't grow the sport as much as dilute the accomplishments of others.

 

If you wanna grow the sport, INVITE PEOPLE TO COME SKI WITH YOU!!!!! I gotta tell you, I thought the whole "Pass the Handle" campaign was a great idea. @OB brought up one of his buddies and his kids for a day on the lake. His buddy sat in the boat as I started to pull OB into the course. The first words out of his mouth were HOLY $#!+!!! I don't care who you are. If you've never seen someone run a slalom course from the boat, that is IMPRESSIVE and COOL! That's how you get people interested. You gotta share your passion!

[Horton]

@bry

Aghaaaa!!!! What I am suggesting is to forget the idea of one huge event and have a ladder of events. Distribute all the Nationals skiers into qualifying events and then let the finalists advance. Yes the final tournament might have a lot less skiers but perhaps more skiers would participate in the qualifying events.

 

Lots of you guys are baffled that less skiers at the final tournament could mean more participation.

 

I know I am a broken record player. If my not my solution, what?

 

No Sh*t, I am all ears.

 

Is the same old event what everyone wants and I am just making trouble?

 

[eleeski]

Consider this: if you skip Regionals then you must ski at a public water tournament to get to Nationals. Tournaments on public water expose the public to the sport. Maybe some of these spectators will join AWSA. Seeing the top skiers (those headed to Nationals) should be inspiring. That benefit might be worth offsetting Regionals requirements.

 

Nationals will still be big, long, one round and Horton less.

 

Eric

[jcamp]

USAWS did a survey last year about why people did/didn't go to Nationals. Would be cool if they made that data publicly available so we could all parse/discuss it. Hard to know how to fix Nationals if we all have our own definition of the problem. Let's see the empirical evidence.

[Horton]

@webbdawg99‌ not exactly grow the sport but grow participation. Gimmie more prestigious events that are fun and I will attend. That is what i have been saying. More skiers will ski these events. You need more and more events as the pool of skiers grows.

[Horton]

Ooooo and charge me a $250 or $300 entry fee. If I am not missing days from work or flying across the country I can afford to let the LOC pocket some cash.

[skosney]

In my opinion Regionals and Nationals are for everybody and anybody that can qualify and it is their option if they want to go. If you want to make it more appealing to some of the top skiers, fine, but there are a lot of average Joe's and new skiers to the sport that see these events a major accomplishment and perhaps even a reward.

 

Talking numbers, the vast majority of skiers have no shot at a medal yet they attend proudly with fellow skiers, visit the sponsors and cheer on others on the water. (I guaranty nobody is traveling to Texas to just watch the top 5 from each region ... now there's a party )

 

Most important to the sport are the younger skiers. Frankly, the more kids you can get to the nationals the better (and their parents will take them). Changing the format to cater to the older slalom skiers could be the final nail in the coffin for competitive waterskiing in the US.

 

For kids, us average Joes, newer competitors (of any age), bucket listers and locals, one shot per event is perfect.

 

Now for those that need a bit more incentive to attend. Develop a few more elite slalom divisions that are based on both performance and some form of State/Regional placement. Have those divisions competing through-out the weekend of the Regionals/Nationals with two rounds and top 4 head to head final. If that squeezes the Big Dawg out, so be it ... it is the US Nationals. Perhaps the performances from those two rounds can be incorporated in the Big Dawg 16 (but that's way above my understanding to the Big Dawg format.

 

 

[TylerR]

@eleeski‌ you have some of the best ideas I've ever heard. I would love to see that in action.

[Horton]

@TylerR‌ now you have gone too far

 

http://media.tumblr.com/fe497dd337d9af8479bb6398b9565d16/tumblr_inline_mg6n5ltl6X1rxe4lt.gif

 

[BRY]

@horton "What I am suggesting is to forget the idea of one huge event and have a ladder of events. Distribute all the Nationals skiers into qualifying events and then let the finalists advance. Yes the final tournament might have a lot less skiers but perhaps more skiers would participate in the qualifying events."

 

That makes sense, I understand the rationale behind that. Disagree with it though. People have a hard time with time & $ for 3 " ladders" now, even some who like yourself with 100+ averages. Current ladder is several "C" or "R" tournaments to qualify, Regionals then Nationals. I submit having Regionals not be the only qualifier is a good thing. Even if a two round Regionals, a great skier could have say equipment or a health issue (bad burrito for example) that day that keeps them out. A plus to the current system is those who've proven to be the best over the course of the season get in. The best do qualify. How many qualify can easily be adjusted by moving the COA up or down.

 

"Is the same old event what everyone wants and I am just making trouble?" No, maybe and no. Seems the same old event does need tweeks. The sport needs people making this kind of "trouble", asking questions. Makes us look everything over so we know (not just feel) either our current course is best or that we need to change it and have some idea how.

Keep making trouble

[TylerR]

@Horton‌ I've only been trying for one for a week :) enjoy your ice bath for ALS.

[Horton]

@BRY‌ thanks for reading and considering. I can't ask for any more than that.

[sunperch]

@skosney‌ You are thinking in the right direction. The youth is the way to drive increased participation in the sport. We had a blast at Nationals hanging out with other families, toobing (that's how they spelled it in TX), pool parties, open bar at Embassy, rope swing, sitting on the dam in the cool river water. It was one of the best family vacations we have ever taken. We look at Nationals as a family vacation where we go to with other like-minded families where the kids get to ski a couple of times. Where else could you send your kid to a movie with someone that you just met a few days before, leave your car unlocked with thousands of dollars of equipment unsecured, give a ride to a hitch-hiker with a ski on his back and him end up being a Big Dawg and M5 champ (free coaching in the car), have a conversation about tricking with Eric Lee, watch a grown man's pants fall off at the bar, spend 4 hours relaxing on a tube with other adults while all the kids race ahead so they can go over the rapids as many times as they can before we catch up with them..........

 

@Horton Your perspective will change in a few years. We have had fun at every Regionals and Nationals that we have been to.

 

@krista‌ The only thing that was boring during the whole trip was the junior development awards ceremony. Would be nice if kids were fed first, not at 11pm. The ceremony needs to be not as long and more fun.

 

[Horton]

@sunperch‌ ok I hear you. Best argument for the current state yet. Not my cup of tea but I get it.

[lakeo]

So, John I think I'm hearing; for you it is more about the format than placement or validation of your skiing ability(which I think is great) I myself have not participated in a tournament in 10 years for a variety of reasons, but probably first among them is I too do not need a validation of my skiing(read I know when I'm skiing well and I know when I'm not) I think a Big Dawg style tournament format would interest me far more than a traditional style.

[walleye]

@sunperch sounds like everyone needs to make babies so they can have fun at Nationals :) Great Idea!

 

PS: you forgot about the stolen pizza you ate and shared with the whole pool, while I got blamed.

[Horton]

@lakeo‌ not going to take time off work to travel across country for 1 slalom ride. I can spend my skiing budget and time way better.

[RazorRoss3]

I think the hard thing with nationals is the week long part, if you could fit it into a thurs-sun that would be easier to go to. It would also make it easier for the competitors to stay the while event and create a big crowd for every skier so you get out of a pass to some noise. I think just a duration adjustment could make it feel more elite by making it easier for fellow competitors to stay and watch.

 

How would either be limit the field or grow the lake count.

[Razorskier1]

I have qualified for nationals for years, but never gone. Why? I've got time commitments to work, family, etc, and it is hard enough to squeeze in a couple weekends a summer for tournaments. If I'm going to do that, I want to ski more than once and have some fun. The fun part of local three round tournaments is that you have everyone at the lake all day -- you actually have people watch you ski, and you get to watch people ski. At a 6-7 day nationals, how many people are actually at the site when the first skiers roll off the dock each morning or the last skiers take their sets? How many participants are there for a whole week vs. just flying in and out for their event? A week is just too danged long to hang out, and to spend the cash and time to fly to Texas (or anywhere else) and back to ski once and fly home just doesn't work with work, family, etc.

 

So, I don't know if I have an answer as to what is the right format to attract qualified skiers to attend nationals, but to answer a question asked earlier (think about what you would like), I'd prefer some way of making it into a multi-round event. That might attract more guys like me and Horton to come.

[GAJ0004]

I was thinking if you ski in the regionals, or nationals it should give you some boost in your ranking score.. Random thought of the day..